Amid clear skies and an air of conviviality among those gathered, the 2016 edition of the CB Facey Foundation SANTA (Seeing A Need Taking Action) Charity Golf event closed on Sunday, December 4, at the Constant Spring Golf and Country Club, with prizes being presented to a host of tournament participants.

Youngsters Luke Chin, Adrian Barnes, Rocco Lopez, and Brady Holmes were among the top-performing male juniors, with Samantha Azan and Mattea Issa figuring for the female juniors titles. The junior programme had 40 entrants this year, of which 14 were beginners.

Andrew Richards was named overall winner of the tournament, which saw action in both the juniors and adult categories. He received the coveted CB Facey Trophy and a 50-inch LED TV for his efforts. Other adult category winners included Howard McKenzie, Carlyle Hudson, and Tommy Lee.

Kai Harris won the Longest Drive sectional prize for ladies, with O’Shea Hay taking the same prize for the men. The two lucrative Hole-in-One prizes, of a new VW Tiguan SUV and a million-dollar Travel package, went unclaimed, while Alison Lyn and Sherold Philibert won honours for Closest To the Pin segment for ladies and men, respectively.

The charity tournament, an annual initiative since 2001, benefits worthy institutions and projects in the immediate community and beyond. This year’s beneficiaries are the Wortley Home, the Constant Spring Police Station, and the Lalyce Gray Basic School, as well as the Boys’ Town Infant & Primary School.

Golf club president and tournament chair Nigel Davy – who will hand over the latter duties to Scott Jones for 2017 – thanked all the participants, the organising committee members, and sponsors. Special tribute was paid to the ladies on the committee, and particularly to Alison Reid for her sterling work in developing the junior programme.

For his part, emcee Scott Jones had clearly saved his best “roasts” for last, dishing out zingers and snappy lines to several of the evening’s winners.

From left: Brittany Singh and Robert Facey of Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust’s C.B. Facey Foundation present a symbolic cheque for $1 million for the Wortley Home for Girls on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at the Constant Spring Golf and Country Club during the annual S.A.N.T.A. Charity Golf Tournament. Receiving on behalf of the institution is Keith Sangster, chairman of the board of Wortley Home for Girls. The Foundation will once again sponsor the charity golf tournament to be held this weekend December 2-4.

OVERVIEW

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CHALLENGE

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What is Lorem Ipsum?

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

Why do we use it?

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

The Wortley Home

The Wortley Home for girls is one of three Children’s Homes, which is operated by the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands under the jurisdiction of the Child Development Agency. The Home was established almost one hundred years ago (1918), through the generosity of a former Rector of St Andrew Parish Church, Canon Edward Wortley and is located at “Maurice Hill” in Constant Spring, Kingston 8.

The Home was established to provide shelter, support and a home environment for girls who were orphans or of indigent parents. Today, the doors are open to any needy girl, ages 6-18 years regardless of socio-economic or religious background and girls are placed here on the basis of decisions by the Juvenile Court to ensure their proper care and protection. Over the years the Home has raised and nurtured thousands of girls for the working world and have chaperoned them into becoming productive citizens of our country.

The Home was destroyed by fire on June 29, 2015, the dormitories and all the belongings of the nineteen (19) girls in our care along with the two (2) house mothers were lost in the fire. They were given temporary accommodation at Immaculate Conception High School and since then have been housed at the SOS Children Village, in Stony Hill, St Andrew.

The re-building of the Wortley Home began in November 2016 with the help of donors and a Memorandum of Understanding with Food for the Poor Jamaica. Once rebuilt, the home will have increased its capacity to accommodate 32 girls. It is hoped that the building will be ready in early 2018.

The Wortley Home is governed by an active board of directors, made up of persons interested in saving the lives of the future generation. It is dependent on donations and grants to continue the work of raising young girls and giving them an opportunity for a productive future.

Overview

Challenge

The Union Community is a small farming community about 8 miles out of the Town of Ocho Rios. In an effort to alleviate the long distances that small children had to travel to get to school the Union Basic School was founded where Emma Moncrieffe started the Union Basic School in her home in 1991. The school later received sponsorship from The Cecil Boswell Facey Foundation in 1993 which assisted with teacher’s salaries and other expenses and in 1998 received a new building from Jamaica Social Investment Fund. The plant consists of a main building which houses 2 classrooms 24×12, kitchen, sick bay, office and toilet facilities; a detached building (classroom 20×15 and a concrete water tank (14000gals). The school currently has space for 30 students. Our staff consists of 3 teachers and a cook/janitor.

In keeping with the standards set out by the Early Childhood Commission we find it difficult to increase the population of the school. Because we have a small population our fundraising efforts have delivered very small yields and because of this some of our projects have been dormant for years because of lack of fund. Five years ago, we started a multi-purposed building intended to house dining facility, indoor-play area as well as a function’s hall. We have written letters to corporate entities and tried fund raisers but have not been able to achieve much in this regard. To date we have only been able to install the columns for the building. We have had to divide an already small classroom to accommodate the dining room in order to meet the Early Childhood Commission Standards. It is also very difficult when it rains and the children cannot go outside to play. In this case we have to rearrange the classrooms to accommodate playing inside. This can be a really tedious task. In addition, on occasions when we are having functions, for example a concert, the classrooms cannot accommodate an audience. We think a multipurposes building would be the answer to these problems.

Impact

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With the multipurposed building in place, we would be able to improve our dining area and freeing- up much needed space for the 3- year- old class. On rainy days as well as times when the children prefer to play inside, adequate space would be available for such activities. This building would be able to accommodate an audience for functions such as graduation, concerts, as well as community club meetings. It will also facilitate meeting area for parents and conferences.

Overview

Challenge

The White River Fish Sanctuary is a 150-hectare (372-acre) ‘Special Fishery Conservation Area’ off the shores of Ocho Rios and St Ann/St Mary Parishes. It is a community-led project managed by the White River Marine Association (stakeholders and partners) and the White River Fishermen’s Association in an equal partnership. The headline objective is “500 in 5” which translates as increasing fish biomass (numbers and size) by 500% in 5 years, and generally bring back marine life (corals, sea urchins, crustaceans, etc.) to the benefit of the whole community (fishers, locals, children, tourist businesses, residents…). The project includes a five-year coral restoration programme.

It is well-known that total fish catch in Jamaica is down 600% since 1950, with fishers having to put in 7 times the effort and cost to catch the same amount of fish. Coral coverage has also been depleted by 85% since 1970. We have to act now and at White River it is the fishermen who are driving this project and will benefit most.

Our main challenge in achieving our goal is securing the boundary. It is imperative that the area is physically patrolled 24/7 to educate and, if need be, prosecute people who take anything out of the sea (fish, coral, shells, starfish, etc.) within the sanctuary boundary. Only then will recovery of the marine life begin.

4 full-time and 8 part-time wardens (those who want to continue to fish) have been selected from the fishers in the White River community and trained to fulfil this vital task. This configuration ensures income for a larger number of fishers, than if they were all full-time, and gives greater flexibility to cover 8-hour shifts 24/7.

· Funding requested

The White River Fish Sanctuary (WRFS) is requesting funds to cover the salary of one full-time warden for 3 years: JMD$ 2,485,728.

Impact

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A key focus is for fishers and others in the White River community to have more job options, related to the protection, restoration and future enjoyment of the reefs. Retraining them to be wardens, coral gardeners, diving guides for example in addition to, or instead of, being fishermen, is already well underway. We also see it as an opportunity to reach out to schools and get children involved (glass bottomed boat trips, surveys, field trips…) and show them what is at stake.

Overview

Challenge

The Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT) is responsible for managing the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spreading over 41,000 hectares in eastern Jamaica, the national park is an area of global significance and is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot. It is home to a high concentration of endemic plant and animal species, including the largest butterfly in the Americas. The Blue and John Crow Mountains is one of the largest migratory bird sites in the Caribbean and the source of 40% of Jamaica’s fresh water supply. The region is also an important cultural resource, containing both Windward Maroon and Taino archeological sites. The park management programme includes uniformed patrols to prevent encroachment; reforestation; invasive species control; water and bird monitoring; as well as public education. The JCDT is a registered charity, which receives 30% part-funding from the Government of Jamaica. The remaining funds for conservation must be sourced through donations and grants.

he forests in and around the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park are under pressure from expansion of agriculture – often slash-and- burn. The National Park spans four parishes with some 55 agricultural communities within a 2km distance of the boundary. Studies including Bruner et al, 2001 indicate that a focus on enforcement and compliance through increased presence of uniformed officers, boundary demarcation and community outreach are required to increase the effectiveness of National Park management.Currently only 6 Park Rangers and a Chief of Corps can be afforded with the funding provided by the Government of Jamaica. Studies indicate that at least 12 Park Rangers are required and they must be mobile, properly uniformed, equipped and engaged in community outreach as well as enforcement action.

The official boundary line of the national park is convoluted and can be difficult for community members to distinguish and avoid. A visible boundary system would significantly bolster the Enforcement and Compliance Programme by assisting farmers in the buffer communities to clearly identify the protected area. The installation of physical boundary indicators, combined with public education and increased patrol personnel will effectively safeguard the natural and cultural heritage of the national park.

To increase management effectiveness through an improved National Park Enforcement & Compliance Programme, the JCDT requires over the next 10 years:
1. An additional J$10 million per year for a robust, effective National Park Ranger Corps engaged in deterring illegal activities, encouraging compliance with environmental regulations and promoting environmentally sustainable practices.
2. J$50 million to successfully implement the National Park Boundary System across 100km of the most critical sections of the boundary – those closest to communities.
3. J$6 million every 5 years for a replacement 4WD pick-up vehicle to support both these components.

Impact

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A mobile, well-equipped and larger National Park Ranger Corps implementing a stronger Enforcement and Compliance Programme will increase the effectiveness of the management of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park and World Heritage Site. This along with clear marking of the boundary will help to safeguard an area that is part of the world’s shared natural and cultural heritage. For Jamaica and the surrounding communities, the boundary system will ensure awareness of the protected area, reduce cases of encroachment and support a sense of community responsibility for maintaining forest cover. The establishment of native trees along the boundary will also support the re-growth of forest in areas that have lost trees. This will have the additional positive impact of protecting watersheds and therefore improve water supply and the local micro-climate.

Overview

Challenge

The National Gallery of Jamaica, which was established in 1974, is the oldest and largest public art museum in the Anglophone Caribbean. The National Gallery of Jamaica (National Gallery) holds a comprehensive collection of early, modern and contemporary art from Jamaica along with smaller Caribbean and international holdings. A significant part of its collections is on permanent view. The National Gallery also has an active exhibition programme, which includes retrospectives of work by major Jamaican artists, thematic exhibitions, guest-curated exhibitions, touring exhibitions that originate outside of the island and, its flagship exhibition since 2014, the Jamaica Biennial, which has an international profile. The National Gallery offers a range of educational services, including guided tours, lectures and panel discussions, and children’s art programmes and also operates a gift shop and coffee shop. The National Gallery is located on the Kingston Waterfront. Since July 2014, the National Gallery also operates a branch, National Gallery West, at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre. This branch offers regular exhibitions and related educational programmes. The National Gallery of Jamaica is a division of the Institute of Jamaica, under the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport.

To assist the NGJ with the development of its physical infrastructure, which is outdated and inadequate to meet current needs, especially in terms of art storage, technical areas (including an art conservation lab), and visitor facilities. The NGJ, which is a two-floor modern building on the Kingston Waterfront, is presently not wheelchair accessible, as there is no elevator or a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. Storage is completely inadequate for current needs, leading to the temporary closure of galleries to accommodate storage; and the upstairs galleries have not been renovated or significantly maintained since 1983 and look particularly outdated and worn. A project has been drafted to upgrade and expand the current building and to bring it up to contemporary art museum standards.

The funding sought is for the first major phase of this project, which includes the relocation of the entrance and the incorporation of the adjoining Orange Park square; the installation of a passenger elevator and wheelchair accessible bathrooms; the renovation and reinstallation of permanent exhibition galleries; stripping the parquet and carpet on the second floor and replacing it with finished concrete; the consolidation of art storage and the reorganization and upgrade of the main storage area; the installation of an art conservation lab; upgrades to the Education Department and office areas.

The cost of this first phase is estimated at $75 million.

Impact

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The NGJ has an important social and cultural role to play in the rapidly redeveloping Kingston
Waterfront area, which is in itself essential to urban renewal in Kingston. The improvements to the building will make the NGJ physically accessible to a larger and more diverse cohort of visitors, allowing us to develop our audiences more effectively and to reach previously neglected social groups. They will also provide visitors with regular access to a wider cross section of the NGJ’s unique collection, which is an important part of Jamaica’s cultural patrimony, while ensuring that this collection is properly cared for, in terms of display, storage and conservation. This will place the NGJ in a much better position to deliver up to its mission statement to:

To collect, research, document and preserve Jamaican, other Caribbean Art and related material and to promote our artistic heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.

Overview

Challenge

Formed in 1991, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is a non-profit, non-governmental environmental membership organization registered under Jamaica’s Charities Act. Our mission is to protect Jamaica’s natural resources using education, advocacy and the law to influence individual and organisational behaviour and public policy and practice. We have been delivering environmental education programmes in Jamaican schools since 1994; we have led clean-ups of the Jamaican coastline since 1993, and have been national coordinators of International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day since 2008. We advocate for the protection of Jamaica’s important natural areas and have led several campaigns on places such as the Cockpit Country, Goat Islands, Font Hill, Palisadoes, Blue Hole and Pellew Island. We work with communities affected by environmental issues and have used a wide range of administrative and legal avenues to ensure protection of the environment and public health.
Our successes include the court ordered rehabilitation of the Harbour View Sewage Treatment Plant and the relocation of a planned logistics hub from the Goat Islands in the Portland Bight Protected Area to Kingston Harbour.

As is the case with many similar organizations, JET’s main challenge is securing a steady stream of funding for core operations. JET is dependent on project funding to carry out its mission and is capable of sourcing grant funding and administering projects, but there are aspects of JET’s work that are not generally covered by grant funding. Examples of this include many overhead expenses (rent, utilities, communications, auditing), board support, public engagement, outreach, media liaison, and representation on a wide range of national and other committees. In addition, grant funding is not always available at the time it is needed and there may be months
between the expiry of one grant and the confirmation of another. The unevenness of core funding leads to uncertain job tenure for staffers; difficulty identifying and retaining qualified personnel; under-resourcing in important areas and unfunded activities being carried out by project staff who already have full workloads.
JET seeks funding to cover its core costs for three key individuals (Chief Executive Officer, Senior Project Coordinator and Administrator) for three to five years. We estimate these costs at J$10,000,000 per annum; about US$78,000 per annum at current rates of exchange.

Impact

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If these three people are in place, there will be in house capacity to secure grant funding for all JET’s project activities as well as the personnel to deliver the important educational and advocacy services the organization is well known for. Confirmed, long-term funding removes the insecurity of job tenure that hampers the effectiveness of many NGOs and allows for greater focus on core mandates leading to more successful
outcomes.

Overview

The Boys’ Town All Age School is a government owned public educational institution. It was established for underprivileged boys by the late Father Hugh Sherlock and was located at 6 Collie Smith Drive in Rema, Trench Town.
In 1945 it was expanded to accommodate 250 students. The School became a co-educational institution in the 1970s and the population increased to approximately 600 students. By then, another institution, the Hugh Sherlock Primary School was built on adjoining premises at 1 East Road to accommodate the increasing population in the area.

However, the upsurge of violence in the community and breakdown in law and order in the 1980s led to an exodus of citizens from the community. The school’s population was significantly reduced and the Hugh Sherlock complex was abandoned. It was later taken over by squatters.

Years after when the violence settled, the population of the school at Boys’ Town All Age increased significantly and additional space was needed to accommodate the growing numbers.

Additionally, the quality of the physical structure was deteriorating. To address this problem, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) refurbished one block of the Hugh Sherlock complex in the mid 1990’s. The Boys’ Town School then gradually moved from the Collie Smith Drive facility beginning with the Grades 4-9 students. By 2009, after the other block was refurbished by the Ministry of Education, the entire school had moved to the Hugh Sherlock complex.

Since its inception, the school has been served by eight principals. Between 2010 and 2013, the Ministry of Education phased out the All Age department as part of the Rationalization of All Age Schools. The Alternative Secondary Transitional Education Programme (ASTEP) was introduced in 2011.

In September 2014 the Cecil Boswell Facey Basic School was renamed as the Infant Department of the Primary School.

Boys’ Town All Age now accommodates two hundred and eighty six students from Infant to grade six as well ASTEP students.

The 2016/2017 academic year will mark the end of the ASTEP program at Boys’ Town All Age. Effective September 2017 the school will now operate as an Infant and Primary School.

Challenge

The main challenge we are currently experiencing at Boys’ Town is the low performance in Literacy. We have been making strides in this area as the results will show from 2013 to present (2013/2014 – 37%, 2014/2015 – 72%, 2025/2016 – 67%, 2016/2017 – ?). We believe that having pull out sessions for our students can help in reaping better results. This could be achieved by hiring a literacy specialist either on a part-time or full time basis. (Funding will vary base on the terms of employment. For an entry level teacher $64,000 monthly ($768,000 annually), for a part time specialist $35,000 ($420,000). Part time figure can b e adjusted based on negotiation. A contributing factor to this problem may stem from the level of parenting that our students have. Where parents participate in our parenting sessions we see changes in students' performance, parental participation and new level of interest in their child/wards education. In order for students to benefit fully from what we do at school we need to train our parents as well so they can buy in the vision of their children's education and the importance of them investment their time and resources to make this a reality.